EAST PEORIA, Ill.—Resilience has been the hallmark of the Bellarmine University softball team all season, so it should come as no surprise that with its back was against the wall in today's Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament, the never-say-die Knights found a way to win.
When their seventh inning comeback fell short and they lost 5-3 in their opening game versus the second-seeded Rockhurst Hawks, the Knights faced elimination against the sixth-seeded Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars. However, this time the comeback did not fall short as Bellarmine pulled out a 2-1 victory to keep its season alive.
Against UIS, the seventh-seeded Knights again found themselves playing from behind as the Prairie Stars struck for a single run in the top of the first on an infield single, a stolen base and a base hit to right center.
Bellarmine squandered scoring opportunities in the third and fifth innings, but good defense and solid pitching from freshman
Sabrina Fussenegger kept BU in striking distance.
The Knights finally capitalized on their offensive production in the sixth inning. Pinch hitter
Megan Bretz led off with a single, and
Katie Stamper followed suit two batters later to give Bellarmine runners on first and second with just one out.
Catcher
Ciara Incorvati then smashed a line drive over the UIS shortstop and the single to left center tied the score as Bretz breezed in from second base. Lillie Nitzen followed with a hard grounder to short that looked as if it were a perfect double play ball, but after getting the force at second base, the throw to first sailed high and Stamper scampered home with the go ahead run.
Heading to the top of the seventh with a 2-1 lead, the Knights felt some pressure as the Prairie Stars connected for two of their game's five hits. After UIS got the potential tying run on second, Fussenegger induced a comebacker that she fielded cleanly to record the final out and preserve the 2-1 win.
With the victory in the pitching circle, Fussenegger ties former Bellarmine greats
Ally Foster and Joyce Bealmear for third place in the BU record book for most wins in a season with 18.
Bellarmine now advances to play top-seeded Southern Indiana in yet another elimination game at 11 a.m. (noon ET) tomorrow. The Screaming Eagles were upset 3-2 by McKendree in a game following the BU-UIS contest.
In the opening game, Rockhurst simply combined power with timely hitting to take a 4-0 lead through three innings. The Hawks' Lauren Marks smacked a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the second inning, and Rockhurst used a single, a pair of doubles and a sacrifice fly to score three times in the third.
Bellarmine came through with its first run in the top of the fifth when Stamper led off with a single, advanced to second on a ground out to the pitcher, and scored when
Erica Knollman popped a double to right center.
Rockhurst got that run back in the home half of the fifth on three singles to boost its lead back four runs.
Still down 5-1 heading to the final inning, the Knights—who pulled off two seventh inning comeback victories in their GLVC regular season finale at Maryville—again had comeback on their minds.
Stamper and
Melissa Hammer opened the final frame with a pair of singles. After a short fly ball to center field,
Rachel Fox grounded out, but advanced the runners to second and third. Designated hitter
Paige Dabney then delivered a two-out, two-run single that trimmed the Hawks' lead to 5-3.
Dabney gave way to pinch runner
Marley Edwards, and
Olivia Russell then reached on an error that allowed her to advance to second and Edwards to third. With the potential tying run at second,
Kelly Ely then hit a high chopper that looked as if it would make it up the middle, but GLVC Pitcher of the Year Bridgette Sappington reached high in the air to snare the ball and throw to first in time to record the final out.
For the game, Bellarmine matched Rockhurst's offensive production as both teams recorded 10 hits, but the Knights stranded eight baserunners to just four for the Hawks.
BU-ROCKHURST BOX SCORE (HTM)
BU-UIS BOX SCORE (HTM)
